Fossil record

In India a peduncle, Palmostroboxylon arengoidum, from the Deccan Intertrappean of Madhya Pradesh (although the age span of these volcanic deposits is controversial, see Chapter 5) is considered by Ambwani (1984) to resemble Arenga closely. A seed (Iriartea collazoënsis) recorded from the Middle Oligocene of Puerto Rico is considered to resemble closely those of Arenga or Iriartea (Hollick 1928). The earliest fossil pollen of Arenga is from the Lower Miocene of Borneo (Muller 1972, 1979). In India, Venkatachala and Kar (1969) recovered spinose monosulcate pollen grains, Couperipollis kutchensis, from the Eocene sediments of Kutch (Gujarat State). Lakhanpal (1970) later suggested that these pollen grains most probably represent Arenga. However, the pollen illustrated is not Arenga-like and the comparison was rejected by Muller (1981). The genus Arengapollenites was published by Kar (1985) to include, “oval, spinose and monocolpate grains where the spines arearranged on the margins alternating to close to the colpus likea crocodile jaw.” This genus is known from the LowerEocene, Naredi Formation (Kar 1985), and from the lignitesof the Cambay and Kutch Basins (Kar and Bhattacharya 1992).The pollen illustrated closely resembles spiny Arenga pollen.Couperipollis was subsequently re-designated as a new genus,Neocouperipollis (Kar and Kumar 1986). (J. Dransfield & N. Uhl & C. Asmussen & W.J. Baker & M. Harley & C. Lewis, Genera Palmarum. The evolution and classification of palms. 2008)A